Bad Feeling
by JBS-Forever
Summary: Sodapop goes to pick Ponyboy up from school for an appointment. He never suspects they'll get stuck in the middle of a shooting. *two-shot*
1. Chapter 1

**This is just a two-shot of a story idea that was on my mind. I realize school shootings are a sensitive subject, so please don't read if it's going to upset you.**

**Also, please ignore all spelling and grammatical mistakes. I didn't get to read over this as much as I wanted.**

**Enjoy!**

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"I need to check Ponyboy out," I say, looking at the clock. I'm late.

"Sure thing, sweetie." The lady behind the desk isn't someone I've ever seen before. She takes a few minutes to look through some files and I take in that she must be pretty new.

"They're just finishing up with lunch, so you'll need to either wait till he gets in his class or find him in the hall."

I hold back a smile. She's definitely new.

"I'll find him," I say.

"Great. Bring him back here once you do and we'll check him out."

I nod and leave the small office, heading down the hall. It feels like forever since I've been in this school. Some of the students are going into their classrooms, but most are lingering, killing as much time as they can. I know the feeling.

"Sodapop, you get lost on your way to work?" I hear a voice from behind me ask. "Or did you forget you don't go to school here anymore?"

"Maybe he had a change of heart," another voice says. "Maybe he decided to come back to school. Now I'll finally have a lab partner who doesn't smell bad."

I laugh and turn around. "Two-Bit, maybe _you're_ the one who smells bad."

Steve claps me on the shoulder. "What're you doing here, buddy?"

"I'm picking Ponyboy up. Do you guys know where he is?"

"Should be heading into History," Two-Bit says.

"Watch out, though," Steve warns. "That kid is like a ticking time bomb."

I give him a confused look, frowning. "What do you mean?"

Two-Bit pushes him. "Ignore him. Ponyboy is just a little on edge today."

"Why?"

"Something about a 'feeling'," Steve says sarcastically, taking a swing at Two-Bit who ducks quickly.

"He's been having this feeling something bad is gonna happen," Two-Bit says.

I grunt. "I get that feeling all the time."

Steve laughs and decides to punch me in the arm since he can't get to Two-Bit. "We gotta head to class. See you later?"

"Yeah," I say. "See ya."

They head off, pushing each other as they go. I roll my eyes and chuckle as I start towards the History room. I spot my little brother before I make it there. He's at his locker, shoving things into his backpack. He looks tired.

"Hey, Pone," I greet. He looks up at me, appearing confused.

"Hey, Soda. What're you doing here?"

"You have an appointment, remember?" I ask. I look at the clock in the hall. "And we're late."

Ponyboy sighs and starts taking things out of his backpack, putting them back into his locker. "Do we have to go?"

"I'm pretty sure Darry would kill us if we don't," I say. I look at him for a long moment as he begins to put different things into his backpack. "So what's this about a bad feeling today? Looks like it's bothering you a lot."

He stops for a moment to rub his eyes. "You ever feel like something bad is going to happen?"

"Sure. All the time."

"No." He shakes his head. "I mean _really_ feel it. Like deep in your soul. In your heart."

I frown and glance at the clock again. "I can't say I have. I'm sure everything will be fine, but we really gotta go."

He closes his locker and slings his backpack over his shoulder. "Yeah, okay."

"We gotta go back to the office so I can check you out," I say as we walk down the hall. My mind is trying to think ahead. "I hope traffic isn't bad. We're gonna be so late."

"Well whose fault is that?" Ponyboy asks. He intends it to be funny, but his voice is too weary. I sling an arm over his shoulder.

"Just relax, Ponyboy. You're probably just nervous about your appointment."

He doesn't say anything. I can feel how tense he is and it worries me. Ponyboy doesn't do things like this. He doesn't stress over anything that isn't worth stressing about.

"Pone-"

A shrill ringing cuts me off and we both stop, looking around. The fire alarms have been set off.

People start filing out of classrooms while teachers try to get everyone organized. No one is listening. Everyone is talking and laughing and making no hurry to get out of the building, probably thinking the alarm is just a drill. Someone runs into me and sends me a few feet back.

"Sorry, dude."

Then a loud shot that sounds like a gun rings through the hall and someone screams.

Chaos breaks out. Everyone is yelling, shoving each other, trying to get out of hall. I brace myself against the current and look around, trying to find Ponyboy. People knock into me, jolting me back and forth. I finally spot Ponyboy, who has pushed himself back against the wall.

Another shot happens and I watch in horror as pure terror takes over him and he covers his ears and sinks to the ground.

I should have listened.

"Ponyboy!" My voice is lost in the chaos. I'm terrified he's going to get trampled.

I look for breaks in the crowd and try to shove my way through. Another shot sounds off and a few people duck, covering their heads. I notice that Ponyboy is no longer where I thought he was. I can't see him at all.

Suddenly the lights shut off. People scream. The only thing that keeps it from being completely dark is the flashing blue of the alarms around us. It's enough to see, but not enough to see well.

Adrenaline pumps through me. I need to find Ponyboy. Oh God, I need to find my little brother.

But the guns goes off again and this time it's closer. The crowd of people has thinned out and everyone who remains drops to their hands and knees. I do the same while I look around desperately.

I have to find Ponyboy, but I can't stay in this hall. The shooter is close.

I realize I'm next to a door. I crawl towards it and reach up to the doorknob, pushing it open. I stand and catch it before it slams, gently closing it. The lights flash in the hallway and illuminate the room through the window in the door. It's the science lab.

I hear something that sounds like a shaky breath and look around. Someone else is in here, but I can't see them.

"Hello?" I call, making sure to keep my voice low.

There's a shuffling and then someone slowly stands up from behind one of the tables. It's Ponyboy. My heart jumps.

"Soda!" He hurries forward and I pull him in my arms, smashing him into a bear hug.

"Oh Pone," I whisper. "I'm so glad you're okay."

I hold him close for a moment, thanking the stars I found him alive and that he doesn't appear to be hurt.

"What do we do?" He asks quietly, his body shaking. I let go of him and look around.

"I don't know," I say. "Is there another door out of here?"

He shakes his head. His voice is full of panic. "We can't go back out there, Soda. We can't. What do we do?"

"Shh," I say. "Keep it down, Pone. Just relax. We're gonna be okay."

I hear someone scream in the hall as another shot goes off. Ponyboy lets out a sob and backs up.

Then the doorknob suddenly starts to rattle. I look over at it.

"Shit!" I hiss. I grab Ponyboy's wrist and pull him towards the front of the classroom, dragging him down under the teacher's desk with me just as the door opens.

It's quiet. Ponyboy's breath is coming out heavy. I put my hand over his mouth and pull him back into my chest, holding him tight.

"Shh," I breathe. He nods.

Whoever is in the room is walking around. Ponyboy swallows hard and I pull him a little closer. My heart is pounding loudly against my chest. I can feel Ponyboy's heartbeat, too.

The person with us hits something loudly and then grumbles to himself. He's only a few feet away from us now. Ponyboy pushes himself back against me and I close my eyes.

We are done for.


	2. Chapter 2

**Is it just me or did everything on this site get bigger? haha**

**Thanks for the reviews! Glad you guys liked the first chapter. Sorry that it's not a full blown story, but I really don't think I could have extended it like that.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Enjoy!**

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It's like every scary movie I've ever seen, only worse. Because it's real and because I'm in it.

The person is right next to us. The suspense is killing me. I've never felt terror like this. I bury my face into the top of Ponyboy's hair. I can feel the fear making its way over him again. A sob rises in his throat.

I shove my hand harder over his mouth, trying to muffle the sound. It's too late. We've been heard.

The person walks around the front of the desk and I see their legs. Quickly, I reposition myself so I'm in front of Ponyboy. The person leans down and I kick out. Hard. I'm ready to fight.

"Jesus Christ." They stumble back, dropping to their knees. _Wait a second, _I think. _I recognize that voice_.

Slowly, I lean forward and look over to the person. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Jesus, Two-Bit," I say. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Sodapop?" He asks, rubbing his leg. "What the hell are you doing under there?"

"What're _you_ doing in _here_?"

"Someone's shooting up the school. I needed a place to hide."

"Same here."

I crawl all the way out and look back. It's nearly black beneath the desk, but I can see Ponyboy bury his face into his hands and then I hear him crying.

"Ponyboy, come out," I say gently. "It's okay. It's just Two-Bit."

He pushes himself out a minute later and I pull him into a hug, massaging the back of his head.

"Are you guys okay?" Two-Bit asks.

"We're fine. Are you?"

"I'm good," he says. "Hell, I thought you two made it out of here before it started."

I shake my head. "No. Where's Steve?"

"I'm not sure. Lost him somewhere in the hall."

"Shit," I sigh. Ponyboy pulls away from me and rubs his eyes.

"God, Two-Bit," he moans. "I nearly had a heart attack."

"I'm sorry, Pone," Two-Bit says sincerely. "On a side note, you guys are the worst hiders ever."

"Yeah, well, we thought a killer was about to find us. You can imagine how hard it is to keep quiet when you're scared shitless," I say, punching him in the arm.

He takes a good look at Ponyboy, his face changing into concern. "Ponyboy, are you okay?"

I look at my little brother. Even in the flashing blue lights, I can see his eyes are swollen from crying and he's pale, but I can't figure out why Two-Bit is so concerned.

"Yeah," Ponyboy says shakily. "You just scared me."

"You're bleeding."

"What?" I ask, moving in front of Ponyboy and searching for the injury. He finds it first.

"Oh jeeze." He lets out a groan, twisting his arm to look at the wound. I can't tell if it's bad, but it's definitely bleeding a lot.

There's a sound of ripping and then Two-Bit moves closer, a piece of cloth in his hand.

"Here," he says, wrapping it around Ponyboy's arm and tying it off. "Does it hurt?"

Ponyboy shakes his head.

"Were you shot?" I ask, hearing the panic in my voice. I wonder how I missed the fact that his arm was bleeding.

"I think I hit something under the desk."

Two-Bit winces. "Do you have your tetanus shot?"

Ponyboy rubs his eyes again. "I don't think so. Why?"

"Because it might have been a nail," I say. "And I think you do have your shot."

"Great," he says wearily. "I don't think that's really important right now."

"He's right," Two-Bit agrees. "We gotta get out of here."

"No. We should stay here. It's safe in here."

I sigh. "For now, but what if he comes in here?"

Ponyboy runs his hands over his face and grabs his hair. "I don't know."

"Are there windows in any classrooms?" I ask. I can't remember for the life of me. It's something I should know, but my brain won't process it. Not right now.

"Of course," Two-Bit says. Another shot sounds off and Ponyboy jumps. It's farther away this time.

He pulls himself to his feet. "Mrs. Johnson's room. It has windows and it's just down the hall."

Two-Bit and I stand as well and we make our way to the door. Two-Bit quietly opens it a few inches, pressing his face close to look out. The alarms are still sounding loudly.

"Looks clear," he whispers.

"Let's go then," Ponyboy says. Two-Bit nods and opens the door wider. I grab Ponyboy before he can step out.

"Ponyboy, I want you to listen me," I say.

"Okay…"

"No matter what happens out there, we'll be okay. I'm gonna stay with you no matter what. You got that? We're gonna be fine."

He nods and I give his shoulder a squeeze before letting go of him.

"Stay between me and Sodapop," Two-Bit commands, leading the way into the hall. We move slowly, sticking close together. Besides the alarms, everything is eerily quiet. No one is around. The ground is littered with deserted backpacks and books. Ponyboy trips over one of them.

"Steady," I say quietly.

"Sorry," he whispers back.

Suddenly Two-Bit comes to a halt. He looks around frantically before he turns back to us. "Run."

I grab Ponyboy's arm and turn on my heels, pulling him behind me. I hear the sound that Two-Bit heard. Someone is coming.

"Here." Two-Bit points to a door and we hurry towards it. I yank it open and wait till he and Ponyboy are inside before I join them.

The second the door closes, everything goes black. I can feel the walls are close. We must be in the janitor's closet.

"Don't move," Two-Bit warns. "I've been in here before and there's a lot of things you can knock over."

I make a face in the dark. "Why have you been in here before?"

He chuckles. "You don't wanna know."

I roll my eyes. The sirens don't sound as loud in here, but they are still giving me a headache. The adrenaline is wearing off and I'm terrified. I need us to get out of here safe. I need us to get out of here in general.

Ponyboy makes a weird sound. I wish I could see him.

"Pone, you okay?" I ask.

"I'm gonna throw up," he says in a small voice. "I wanna get out of here."

"I know," I say gently. "We're working on it."

There's a sound in the hall almost right outside the door. I hear Two-Bit whisper, "Shh," and then it's dead quiet. My heart is racing.

Ponyboy moves restlessly. He's not making much sound, but his movement in the silence can be felt. Then, with a jolt, I remember something I should have never forgotten. Ponyboy is claustrophobic. That's probably part of the reason he had so much trouble under the desk. He doesn't do well in small places. Not since Johnny died.

"Shit," I breathe out loud. The sound in the hall is moving past us.

"What is it?" Two-Bit whispers.

"Ponyboy."

"I'm okay," Ponyboy says quietly, but I know he's not. I can hear it in his voice. Two-Bit seems to get it.

"Wide open spaces, Pone," he says.

Ponyboy moans. "Shut up."

"Oh he's fine," Two-Bit chuckles. I feel him move to the door and then he opens it slightly, letting a slim line of light into the small space. "Come on."

We file out and Ponyboy takes in a deep breath before we start moving again. There's another shot and we all look back.

"Just go," Ponyboy whispers, lightly pushing Two-Bit.

We move again, this time more quickly. Mrs. Johnson's room is in sight.

"Those damn alarms are so annoying," Two-Bit mutters.

We get to the room. As Two-Bit closes the door behind us, I hurry to the windows and pull one of them open, looking down at the ground. We're a lot higher up than I expected.

"I don't think we can jump that," Ponyboy says from beside me. I glance at him. I wish we didn't have the light now because I can see how terrible he looks.

"Yeah, we can." Two-Bit comes to stand next to us. "We just lower ourselves down. Me and Soda will lower you down first, Pone."

"But how-"

A loud boom echoes somewhere in the school.

"We gotta go. Now," I say. "Get up on the window sill."

Ponyboy makes a face, but does what he's told. I have him turn around and take mine and Two-Bit hands and then he starts climbing down the side of the building. We hold his weight while he hangs and try to lower him as much as we can.

"Bend your knees when you land," Two-Bit says. Ponyboy nods and then lets go of our hands. He hits the ground in a crouched position and falls forward.

"You okay?" I call. He stands up.

"Yeah."

I turn to Two-Bit. "You go next."

He gets up on the sill like Ponyboy did and I take both of his hands. I lower him down and he drops to the ground, landing in a solid position.

"How are you getting down?" Ponyboy asks, almost as if he just realized it.

"I'm gonna hang from the window and drop," I say, getting up on the sill and turning around. I grab the edge of the window and carefully start climbing down.

"Easy now," Two-Bit says.

I let go and then realize something right before I hit the ground. I wasn't as low as everyone else.

My legs bend on impact and then my ankle gives a painful throb, causing me to collapse. I grind my teeth together and my hands ball into fists.

"Soda!" They both swarm around me.

"I'm fine," I say in a pained voice.

"Is it broken?" Two-Bit asks, helping me to a sitting position. I groan and take a deep breath.

"I hope not."

"Can you move it?" Ponyboy asks, kneeling down my leg.

I nod. "Yeah, it just hurts."

Two-Bit helps pull me to my feet and I wrap an arm around his shoulder. "We gotta get to the front of the school. We're still not in the clear out here."

Ponyboy nods and starts walking ahead of us, looking back to make sure we're keeping up. Two-Bit supports most of my weight as I limp along beside him.

"You know, that kind of stuff usually happens to me," he muses. "I'm surprised."

"Why? You're incredibly clumsy," I say.

He laughs. "I meant I'm surprised it happened to you."

As we get towards the front of the school, someone rounds the corner and sees us, yelling to someone else. A couple of cops appear and hurry towards us. One of them takes Ponyboy away quickly while the other helps Two-Bit with supporting me.

Cop cars and ambulances are parked in front of the school with their lights flashing. The cop leads me to one of paramedics, who starts to fuss over my injury. I can't see Ponyboy anywhere through the mass of people.

"Two-Bit," I say in a panic. "Find Ponyboy."

He nods and hurries off.

The paramedics want to take me to the hospital to x-ray my ankle and they won't listen to my pleas of waiting for my brother. I ask them to wait, to at least let me find out where he is, but they tell me he'll be fine and then close the doors.

Steve and Two-Bit show up at the hospital a few minutes after I do. They catch me in the hall before I'm taken in for x-rays. Steve lets me know that he's all right. He made it out of the school within the first few minutes. Two-Bit tells me that Ponyboy was taken away in one of the ambulances because of his arm and that he's somewhere in the hospital. He promises me he'll find him.

Steve waits while I get my x-rays done and then joins me in the room they put me in. He tells me about the shooting. Apparently it was some freshman. A Soc. He says the cops were able to take him down sometime while we were getting checked out by the paramedics. Ten people were shot. No one was killed.

Steve thinks the kid didn't mean to shoot anyone. That he probably just wanted to create a scare.

Before I can comment, we both hear a voice booming somewhere in the hall.

"Did you call Darry?" I ask.

Steve scowls. "No. Two-Bit did."

The door to my room bursts open and then Darry is there, looking frazzled. He stops for a moment to examine me before he hurries forward.

"Are you okay?" He asks quickly.

I nod. "I'm okay."

He looks at my foot, which is stretched out on the bed with an ice pack resting on top of it.

"What happened to your foot? Where's Ponyboy?"

"We jumped out of a window," I say. "I think it's just sprained. I don't know where Ponyboy is. Two-Bit is finding him."

"Is he hurt?"

"He's fine," I say, not wanting to worry Darry anymore than he already is. He sighs and then pulls me into a hug.

"Why do bad things happen around you guys?" He mutters. I hug him back.

"Guess we're just lucky."

The door opens again and we pull apart. Two-Bit pokes his head into the room.

"Is there a party going on in here?" He asks.

"Yeah," Steve says. "But it's VIP only."

Two-Bit feigns a look of sadness and turns away from us. "Guess we'll have to leave, Pone."

Darry steps forward quickly and yanks the door all the way open. Ponyboy laughs and hits Two-Bit in the arm. His own arm is wrapped in a bandage, but he looks fine otherwise.

"Ponyboy, are you okay?" Darry asks, pulling him into the room. "You weren't shot, were you?"

"No," Ponyboy says. "I just hit a nail when Soda and I were hiding."

"And he got nine stitches," Two-Bit informs. "He didn't cry or anything."

Ponyboy ignores the comment, turning his arm to look at it. "It's pretty tuff looking."

Darry sighs. "Yeah, I bet it is."

"How's your ankle?" He asks me.

"We're waiting for the x-rays, but I think it's just sprained," I say.

Ponyboy nods and then it's quiet for a moment. I think all of us are actually realizing what happened. Two-Bit looks at Steve and motions to the door with his head. Steve nods and they both slip out of the room, leaving us alone.

Ponyboy shifts awkwardly on his feet, looking at the ground.

"What happened?" Darry finally asks.

I give him a look. "Two-Bit didn't tell you?"

"He told me there was a shooting and that you and Ponyboy were hurt."

I give him a brief overview of what happened. I tell him about going to get Ponyboy from school and the alarms going off. The gunfire. Having to hide in the classroom (I leave out hiding under the desk) and then Two-Bit showing up and us getting to Mrs. Johnson's room (I also leave out the closet). I tell him about us going out the window and then the paramedics taking us away.

His face is troubled when I finish. Ponyboy is sitting on the edge of my bed, picking at his bandage. I can see that remembering is bothering him, too. He looks like he's ready to start bawling.

Without a word, Darry reaches over and pulls him into a hug. For a moment he just holds him close and Ponyboy goes from being tense to folding into his arms. I smile gently.

Darry reaches out to me and I join the hug. We stay that way for a few minutes until a nurse comes in to give me the results of my x-ray.

"Ponyboy," I say, looking at my youngest brother as the nurse wraps my ankle. "Next time, let's be on time."

"Next time _you_ be on time," he says, laughing a little.

"I think I missed something in your story. Why were you there in the first place?" Darry asks. I give him a confused look.

"Ponyboy had an appointment today. I was supposed to take him, remember?"

Darry raises his eyebrows. "Sodapop, that appointment is tomorrow."

I groan and bury my face into my hands as Ponyboy starts into a fit of laughter.

Life has a funny way of working out sometimes.


End file.
